Audit Suggests Closing Fire Company

The newly released audit of the Hoboken Fire Department recommends that the city close a fire company and add a 311 service. The audit also makes recommendation about the staffing levels, and finds that the emergency response is “excellent.”

"The Department’s level of staffing and resources are sufficient, in conjunction with mutual aid from surrounding communities, to allow for the elimination of an engine company," the audit states.

Fire Chief Richard Blohm, in a communication to Mayor Dawn Zimmer, wrote that although “hesitant” to close a fire company, he would be willing to close the one down on Observer Highway. 

“This will insure that in the event of traffic congestion in town it would only impede the progress of one Fire Company getting to the fire scene and not tie up two companies as they will respond from different locations and directions,” Blohm wrote.

Blohm has said in the past—and reiterated in his letter to Zimmer—that he believes that Hoboken needs seven fire companies. (The audit and Blohm's letter are attached to this article)

The audit also recommends to keep the current organizational structure. According to the roughly 80-page document, there are currently vacancies in the fire department that should be filled. By filling the vacancies, the amount of overtime cost the department pays every month would go down considerably, according to the audit.

If overtime would be used to fill the vacant hours, the audit found, it would cost the city $1,629,725.

“Any effort to maintain current levels of minimum staffing without filling some of the vacancies will result in a more than ten-fold increase in overtime over current levels,” according to the audit. “To avoid this expense, the City must reduce companies.”

According to the audit, five more people retired from the HFD on April 1, causing more vacancies in the department. The city is alsofrom the federal government by not filling the vacancies in the fire department.

Another recommendation from the audit is to promote eight firefighters to bring amount of captains to a total of 30. "This can be paid for from the $822,000 in savings estimated by the City that will result from upcoming retirements," according to the audit.

As far as response time is concerned, the Hoboken Fire Department is doing well, according to the audit.

"The HFD’s performance on drive times is excellent, with 90 percent of calls for service responded to in less than four minutes 90 percent of the time," the audit states.

The chief wrote also that he hopes that the city will fill the vacancies. The audit, Blohm wrote, should be used as a “road map.”

The mayor has not yet released her plans on how to use the fire audit. According to a press release from the city, the mayor will announce her plan "shortly."